iPhone 2.0 v. BB Bold
 

Here's the latest tech debate I have.

I'm on a BB 8700, and I love the curve. But the iPhone is damn sexy. I like the BB keyboard, but the iPhone touchscreen has grown on me.

So what say you? iPhone 2.0? or BB bold?

Bold screen is too small, how are you suppose to watch movies or tv shows on flights?

Are you looking for productivity or media?

Do you type a lot? That could make the difference. Have you tried out both?

Isn't the Bold display supposed to have a huge resolution increase over current Blackberry displays? That would be nice.

I too am on the hunt for a replacement phone, and am waiting to personally see the Bold before making any commitments. Based on knowledge of my personal usage patterns for other smartphones, I know that I won't buy any Blackberry until they come up with a better web browser.

Until Apple can find a way to put a QWERTY keyboard on an Iphone, I'll never switch over.

I hear that the browser will be much improved in the new BBOS v4.6. I'm annoyed they have not announced a date as yet for the device to be released...

Yep. It's 480x320, just like the iPhone.

http://www.apple.com/nz/iphone/features/sms.html
Isn't that a QWERTY keyboard?
Or are you meaning with all the symbols etc easy access?

I'd like to see the option of a physical plastic keyborad for iPhone. The easiest way to do this would be to allow the Bluetooth function to work with keyboards (presumably just a software thing that is easily changed?)

The subject of this thread was of great interest to me two days ago, but now the question is"

iphone 2.0 or BB Thunder?

Anyone know when it's expected out?

The Thunder to me is just RIM's answer to the iPhone, as it comes with the things I don't like about the iPhone: no keyboard and no trackball. The input methods of Blackberry are what make it so efficient.

That's the right question. I use to have a BB, but switched to the iphone. I almost never take my computer out on flights anymore to watch movies. Typing emails haven't been a problem. Safari on iPhone is much easier to use.

I saw this review a while ago:

http://www.theiphoneblog.com/2008/05...ackberry-bold/

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

September, on Verizon exclusively, at least initially. RIM has an out if VZW doesn't meet its sales quotas.

I agree with Scott about the speed of the Blackberry style keyboards. I could peck out responses faster on my real Blackberry and my E61 than a I can on my TyTN.

I think the push towards the touch screen is part of the fact that we are striving for a "do everything device" and a touch screen is sort of a "blank screen."

Slightly off topic, but as a small step towards carrying less on trips, I wish these companies could standardize on a single charger.

Well, Apple has standardized on the iPod dock style connector, which is actually even appearing in a lot of new cars. I wish I could charge BlackBerries with a USB cable from the computer. They always display the message that it won't charge over USB. That way I could just bring the computer, computer charger, and USB / Dock cable, and eliminate a separate BB charger.

That brings me to another point. With the iPhone, I can play music through my car stereo and select songs from the headunit / steering wheel. Car integration is getting better and better every year. How would I get songs to play with the Bold through the car? I don't think most factory Bluetooth systems support music streaming though the car.

When I get to the hotel, I connect the iPhone with the Apple Component AV cable to the hotel HDTV input panel to watch my movies and TV shows on the big screen. Does the Bold do that?

I guess in my case I'm more into the media / entertainment aspects of the device instead of the email, which is what I think the Bold does best.

There is a nice review of the Bold over on:

http://www.howardchui.com/

I confused the Bold with the Blackberry's forthcoming touchscreen unit in my prior posts and some of what I wrote doesn't apply (some does).

With respect to Bluetooth, there is a program for Windows Mobile call Blue Music which allows other applications to use your Bluetooth stack and communicate through your bluetooth hand's free. I imagine something like this could be written for the Blackberry.

The problem right now is that Apple has a huge competitive advantage with their dock. Blackberry, Nokia, Microsoft, and Sony should come together on a competing standard preferably something just beyond the boundaries of Apple's patents. This would create a powerful incentive for carmakers and airlines to support this alternative standard.

If the car system has Bluetooth A2DP then yes, you can control the audio. Most factory units do not support this, but the majority of Bluetooth enabled aftermarket units DO. And the Blackberry does support A2DP.

No. But in my situation 8Gb (or even 16Gb) is not enough. The Blackberry will never replace an iPod when it comes to media, which is why I carry a 160Gb iPod with me, which has all the movies and TV shows I could ever want. I don't want to be restricted by just 8Gb of storage.

The media aspect of the Blackberry has improved a lot over the past years. For example, the Sprint devices support Sprint TV, which is something the iPod doesn't do. The Blackberry also does streaming media (like Youtube) just fine.

If media is your number 1 wish, then the iPhone is the pick, if you need a really sold phone with excellent messaging, then the Blackberry wins.

It doesn't look too compelling. He says "besides the menus and the browser, the blackberry bold is just like any other blackberry, one that kinda looks like an iPhone"

For starters, it's the first GSM Blackberry with 3G
It's also the first device to run the 4.6 version of their OS
Improved display
More memory
Hot swappable memory slot

The current generation Blackberry smartphone was already great, the addition of 3G only makes that better.

To me, those improvements are enough to want this phone badly :D

While BlackBerry has had more time to practice with getting the e-mail right, Apple is catching on quickly. I just can't stand to pay AT&T for 3G data on the iPhone 3G when I live 65 miles from 3G coverage, and won't be getting coverage any time soon. The first gen iPhone will do fine for now.

Why do people keep saying that like it is true? The 8707 blackberry is 3G/GSM and has been out for ages. It's even older than the pearl so it is not a recent model. It's the only Blackberry you can use in Japan.

I stand corrected, thanks! I think the limited 3G support on it (only 2100) is the reason I had never paid attention to it...

If you're getting this message, it's because the computer doesn't have the Blackberry software installed. Once you install this it will provide your USB port with enough power to charge a BB.

I'll be making my choice between these two and the Nokia E71, I suspect. Still don't know which way I'm going to go.

There was a rumour when the 2nd or 3rd iphone SDK came out about an HID or BT keyboard interface. Not sure if that went anywhere, but for flights, obscure travel and the like I would certainly take one of my small BT keyboards and just use the iphone.

An odd bit that came out of the last SDK, was that ROUTING for GPS applications was going to be disabled? Meaning, only the resident (ala google) GPS would allow routing and real time directions. That would be quite lame in my opinion.

It truly is a form v. function issue.

I'll want to use BB messenger, and the email/calendaring/address books ... And I appreciate having a physical keyboard

But the iPhone has a bigger screen, and unless the BB browser is of iPhone quality, that becomes a PITA.

I guess it also depends on what each phone plan looks like as well (as AT&T has jacked up the iPhone base data plan cost by ~$20 /mo)

I suspect it's because they are going to give Google first dibs on a turn by turn package, or perhaps Apple will even release their own package. The whole thing does make TomTom look bad, because the same day the iPhone was announced, they claimed they had their package working for the iPhone.

I just realized what the BB Bold killer is:

Crappy web surfing experience. The iPhone visuals of surfing websites (can it do Flash now?) is much much better than the 'improved' BIS.

So iPhone for me!

Actually, surfing on the Blackberry is pretty damn good with the latest OS version. I wouldn't compare it to the iPhone, but it's at least a full browser (with things like cut/paste).

Things like this make me think that long time BB users have Stockholm Syndrome. Oh, it's a little better than before, but still crappy in comparison... :)

LOL... I'm a long time WinMo user, and the last time I had a Blackberry was back in 2004, so I am most certainly not a BB freak.

The browser IS GOOD. It loads everything as it should, it has a zoom out/zoom in mode, it handles forms, tables, CSS and anything else I throw at it.

But there really is no comparing it to the iPhone. Safari really is brilliant, and IMHO the best thing the iPhone has going for itself. AS LONG AS YOU WANT BASIC BROWSING. As soon as you want to paste something into a form, or even just for longer session, it becomes a PITA. The on screen scrolling/zooming is cool at first, but after 10 minutes it drives you insane.

I most certainly wouldn't call the newest BB browser crappy.

I don't know if this applies or not, but I've noticed on Windows mobile devices (also mini-USB to USB) that most of the retractable cables I've purchased have not recharged my units, but the standard cables generally do. I'm not sure what is going on here, but I suspect that the retractable cables are not implementing all the necessary connections for recharging.

When I was upgrading from a Blackjack I a couple of months ago I knew I wanted 3g (for tethering) and GPS which instantly eliminated the iPhone (lacked both) and Blackberry (lacked 3g) offerings. I ended up with the Blackjack II and I'm very happy with everything it does. Now the Bold has both and looks very promising, as does the iPhone 3g if tethering is supported. Luckily through my company I was able to get the Blackjack II for free (refurb) on a 1yr contract. Sometime in April '09 I'll be looking very closely at the iPhone, Bold, and hopefully a 3g version of the Thunder. Even then, I'll likely stick with a WinMo phone as I've been able to sneak by on the $15/mo unlimited MediaNet package, something I'd have to give up with much higher data rates on the iPhone and especially on the Blackberry.

I just upgraded at work to a Curve from a very very old BB - it's a great device but I am currently carrying around my jailbreaked [sic] iPod tocuch for media etc.

Prior to the iPhone 2.0 being released i was chatting to my IT guys about whether the new iPhone was going to be able to un teh same form of email as the BB and they seemed to think it would. Wed currently do not alow email push which I think is the way that email on the iPhone works - but I could be completely wrong in this.

So the question for me is whether I could integrate my iPhone 2.0 (if I bought one) with our BB based mobile comms solution.

Any thoughts?

In theory you could add the iPhone to your Exchange server setup (which is placed before the blackberry servers). But that would require your IT people to support it, and I'm pretty sure most enterprises won't be too keen to add iPhones to their infrastructure.

I don't think it is either. I think that one thing we have to keep in mind with the iPhone/BB comparisons is that they're trying to accomplish different things. The iPhone is an attempt to build a platform resembling a powerful computer in a small case (thus the reason for a mostly complete version of Safari). The BB is an attempt to make the most productive cell phone possible - thus the high quality, but still cell-ish browser. Anyway, just something to keep in mind.

Actually they will support it - but I would need to provide my own data plan and fund all my own calls - currently I have a BB fully funded by the company. Given the overseas travel and calls - I would be a little reluctant to go this way. I am a bit of an apple geek but funds are fixed...

That would be a pretty cool feature. I'm looking forward to seeing how much the iPhone will cost at Vodafone in New Zealand and what contract they'll want to lock you in for.

I'd lay down money that it will be a considerably better deal than what we've got in the US. It couldn't be much worse...